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Friday, October 26, 2012

Poor Unfortunate Soul

I spent some time today (of course when I should have been doing something else) surfing my favorite "horsey p*rn" site, as my friend Wendy over at Racehorse to Showhorse calls them (I'm not spelling that word out but I think you can guess). Here's where I was hanging out:

You know I love Thoroughbreds above all other horse breeds, and you probably know it's my dream to have an OTTB of my own someday. CANTER always has a great selection of soon-to-be-OTTBS, so when I want to torture myself, this is my favorite place to go. I even have photos I've printed out of some horses over the years to remind me of the "ones that got away."

Well, here's one that I won't be hanging up. God bless 'im, but this has to be the sorriest-looking TB I have ever laid eyes on. I gasped out loud. In fact, at first I thought that someone had made a huge mistake and accidentally posted a picture of a creature that resulted from the accidental breeding of a scrub Mustang and a goat (sorry, Mustang-lovers, I know there are pretty ones of those, too!).

You think I'm kidding/exaggerating?

I mean, What. Is. That.???

Okay, his front legs are not bad other than being short, but the rest looks like a textbook illustration for a "Poor Conformation" photo. I realize that his main defect is a roached back, but upon careful consideration, I don't think things would be mightily improved if that suddenly went away. You would still have the posty hinds, the endless withers (saddle-fitting would be a breeze), the straight shoulder, that NECK (can he even reach the ground to graze???), the piggie eye in a cinder-block head, etc. etc. He even has a crappy-looking tail. And oh, let's not overlook the hay belly, quite a thing to achieve on a TB! (Hope it's not worms but it might well be)

You can call me mean if you want but I simply am aghast at this poor animal. He might be the sweetest horse on earth, but I think he is going to have a very hard time finding an owner (at least one who wants to ride him). Especially given that.... are you ready for this... they are asking the sum of *drumroll please*

TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS
for this horse.

Here's his complete description:

I don't understand how they think he "might be a QB/TB mix" (which, by the way, I could easily believe), if he has a tattoo. Do they tattoo Quarter Horses? The "raced in June" part, too, is a bit baffling since if that's true it sure didn't take him long to lose *koff, koff* condition. The video is very short and basically shows him being dragged at a walk at the end of a lead rope. Apparently he didn't feel like trotting.

I have to say, this photo makes me feel even sorrier for this poor beast:

You'd think they might have taken the time to remove the burdocks from his forelock before taking his picture. He looks pretty disgusted, and I don't blame him.

Now, don't get me wrong - I am a huge, huge fan of CANTER, don't know what our TBs would do without them, and greatly appreciate that someone cares enough to house and feed (!) Mr. Horse here off the racetrack. They also took the time to take the pictures and get them posted on the CANTER website. This boy could have (and Lord knows with his looks, it can't have been far from people's minds) been shipped straight to the auction. I'm truly glad these people who have him care that much. I just wish they would price him more realistically ($500 comes to mind) and maybe do something - ANYTHING - to make him look a wee bit better. Deworming and neck exercises, maybe?

3 comments:

This guy looks wormy and underfed to me. I think some conditioning, deworming, and groceries may improve his looks a fair amount. All of the above would help his hind end to round out, lose the wormy belly/ribby sides combo, and maybe help his neck to not look so... "ewe-y." Some grooming (his forelock, even?) would help, too. His face doesn't look too bad in the second photo, with his ears perked up and his forelock tamed he might even look cute. This horse is not worth $2000 in the condition he's in, even if he is good minded. I hope he gets upgraded.

Awww... I think he's cute, the poor neglected looking thing. Just visualize the end picture - a conditioned horse with a slick, healthy coat, the worm belly gone, proper muscling along his back & top line, stronger hind end. He'd look totally different. Won't fix his confo. faults, but he would be a cutie.... and he looks like he'd make a nice kids horse (or hey, how about a driving horse!!!)

Looks like a good project for you- maybe they accidentally added an extra zero on his price?? For $200, I'd take him and fix him up! ;P

It's possible he is an Appendix, and yes, they do tattoo QH race horses. Lots of QH racehorses are appendix bred, and it's widely stated that QH racing is some of the harshest racing around... so it isn't hard to believe that someone raced this horse in this poor condition.

About Me

I've been a rider and horse lover since before I can remember, and a writer since college. It's about time I put the two things together! I currently live in MO, with my wonderful husband and children, and lovely Springer Spaniel. I grew up in a leafy suburb of NJ - yes, they DO exist. I've never owned my own horse but have had the great good fortune to ride and show many over the years. There is a (grey?) Off the Track Thoroughbred (OTTB) in my future though... someday.